Jay-Z Teams With ESPN For Boxing Series, Unofficially Endorses New Champagne
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter is teaming with ESPN Original Entertainment to create a scripted boxing series titled Hit Men. Hit Men will focus on the lives of a multi-cultured group of struggling athletes who work out at The Hit Men Boxing Club, a gym that is run by former boxer Frank Cerrones. According to ESPN, the […]

SwishaHouse Drops Third Compilation Featuring Debut of Paul Wall’s Wife
SwishaHouse has released the third installment of The Day Hell Broke Loose, a compilation series designed to introduce up-and-coming artists on the Houston-based label’s roster. The discs also feature new music from notable SwishaHouse artists such as Mike Jones and Paul Wall. The third volume sees the debut of Paul Wall’s wife, Ms. Crystal, the […]

State of New York Settles With Morgan Stanley Over Hip-Hop Money Manager’s Abuses
New York’s Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced a settlement with investment bank Morgan Stanley after the company came under scrutiny for fraud, when one of its brokers defrauded 15 customers out of $740,000.Gabriele Tamar Smith, who counted DJ Clue, Fabolous, Kevin Liles and other Hip-Hop stars and executives as clients, ran Premier Business Management L.L.C. […]

Jay-Z Lends Creative Input for Budweiser Select Ads
Jay-Z officially kicked off his new partnership with St. Louis-based brewer Anheuser-Bush with a commercial spot that aired last night (Oct. 16) during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast.As the rapper/Def Jam president’s latest single, "Show Me What You Got," played in the background, the 60-second spot highlighted scenes from the video, which was shot in […]

Flavor of Love 2 Breaks Viewing Records
The season finale of Flavor Flav’s VH1 reality series Flavor of Love 2 drew over 7.5 million viewers, making it the year’s highest watched non-sports telecast on basic cable, according to VH1. The show featured Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav on a quest to find love. During the competition, the rapper made a connection with contestant […]

Snoop To Premiere ‘Hood of Horrors’ At Indie Film Festival
Snoop Dogg will premiere his new movie Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror tomorrow (Oct. 18) as part of the independent horror film festival, Screamfest 2006. Hood of Horror is a collection of three tales about neighborhood residents whose actions determine their fate in the afterlife. Snoop executive-produced the flick, which blends live action with animation. […]

Rapper Fabolous Shot, Then Arrested In Early Morn Conflict
Rapper Fabolous was shot early this morning (Oct. 17) as he left Justin’s, a popular New York eatery owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs. A man with a gun approached the Brooklyn-bred rapper, whose real name is John Jackson, and shot him once in the thigh as he departed restaurant. After he was wounded, the rapper […]

D-Block Opens Car Wash/Detail Center
Yonkers, New York-based rap crew D-Block will give back to their hometown community this Saturday (Oct. 21) when the group launches their latest venture, the D-Block Shell Car Wash/Detail Center. The grand opening will feature performances by various artists. The new flagship business is a partnership between D-Block and New York entrepreneur Sammy “Sasso” El […]

Source Co-Founders Launch Hip Hop Weekly
Amid an ongoing sexual harassment trial against The Source, the magazine’s ousted co-founders Dave Mays and Raymond “Benzino” Scott have officially resurfaced with their new magazine, Hip-Hop Weekly. The publication, which launched today (Oct. 16), is designed to provide readers with “an informative and entertaining treat on every page, giving you the hottest pictures and […]

‘I Am Hip-Hop’ Author Welcomes Children Into Culture
Hip-Hop isn’t just an adult phenomenon, one scribe charges. I Am Hip-Hop, a new children’s book by author Nicole Duncan-Smith and photographer Stella Magloire, challenges the notion that kids aren’t a party to the cultural movement. “I would like for children to get that Hip-Hop is not about what [possessions] you have. Life is not […]
Kanye West, Steve Stoute, Sylvia Rhone Among HSAN Action Awards Recipients
Producer/rapper Kanye West will be recognized for his charitable contributions at this year’s Action Awards, an exclusive fundraiser/dinner that supports the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network’s work in utilizing the power of Hip-Hop for social change. Other award recipients include Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Debra Lee and BET Networks, Steve Stoute, HSAN co-chairmen Russell Simmons and Dr. […]

St. Lunatic Rapper Ali Tasered By Police Officer
St. Lunatic member Ali was arrested over the weekend for minor traffic violations and during the arrest, the rapper claims police brutalized him by stunning him almost 50 times with a 50,000 volt taser gun. Ali, born Ali Jones, was pulled over Saturday (Oct. 14) afternoon in Hazelwood, Missouri, for driving his Chevy Corvette with […]

Rhymefest Heads To The UK To Meet With Conservative Party Leader
Chicago rapper Rhymefest will act as an international spokesman for Hip-Hop culture when he meets with Conservative Party leader David Cameron in the United Kingdom this week.Rhymefest will meet with Cameron at the House of Commons on Thursday (Oct. 19) to help change the politician’s view of Hip-Hop music, according to UK daily The Sun. […]

Busta’s Flipmode Jumps Into R&B With Former Blackstreet Member Chauncey Black
Busta Rhymes is expanding the sounds of his Flipmode Squad to include R&B and has inked a deal with former Blackstreet frontman Chauncey Black. Black’s solo debut Church Boy features guest appearances by The Game, Young Buck, Rah Digga, Labb, Spliff Star and Busta Rhymes, while Dr. Dre, LT Hutton, Davel "Bo" McKenzie and Teddy […]

Diddy Day Declared In Chicago, Danity Kane Crashes In Toledo
And it don’t stop. Rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was celebrated today (Oct. 13) in Chicago with his own day–his second such honor. According to the Associated Press, Mayor Richard Daly declared today as Diddy Day and presented Diddy with a set of cuff links bearing the city’s seal. He also called the entertainer "a […]

AHH Stray News: Trick Daddy, Kurtis Blow, Hip-Hop Mozart
Trick Daddy will release the DVD, The Real Entourage, on Oct. 31, the same day as his new album, Book of Thugs II. The DVD, which will be issued via 845 Entertainment, shows the Miami rapper in his day-to-day dealings. In addition to candid interviews with Trick Daddy and his father about a number of […]

Young Dro Plots First Major Tour
Atlanta rapper Young Dro will soon be shoulder-leaning around the country, as he plots his first major tour in support of his Atlantic Records debut Best Thang Smokin’. The colorful rapper is set to hit the road this fall for a major U.S. tour with labelmate T.I. The arena trek will kick off Oct. 27 […]

DMX Targeted in New $2 Million Dollar Defamation Lawsuit
DMX’s statements in a recent interview with Sister 2 Sister Magazine may come back to bite him. The Yonkers, N.Y., rapper has been named in $2 million defamation lawsuit filed Thursday (Oct.12) by Monique Wayne of Prince George’s County, Md. The woman is claiming to be the mother of DMX’s two-year-old son Javon Micai Wayne. […]

T.I. Nominated For Eight BET Hip-Hop Awards
Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Katt Williams and Young Jeezy appeared at the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce yesterday (Oct. 12) to announce the nominations for the first-ever BET Hip-Hop Awards show. Atlanta rapper T.I. led all nominees with eight nods, including Video of the Year, Hip-Hop Track of the Year, Hip-Hop MVP of the Year, Lyricist […]
J. Prince Denies Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris’ Claims Of Owning Interest In Rap-A-Lot
Rap-A-Lot CEO James "J. Prince" Prince has denied that the legendary Houston-based label is co-owned by convicted drug kingpin Michael "Harry-O" Harris.Prince did not attend a hearing in Los Angeles today (Oct. 12) relating to the matter but he and his attorney offered up a challenge to settle Harris and his attorney Steve Golderg’s claims […]